Wilson: Supercommittee Failure Due To ‘Leadership Deficit’

Harry Wilson has released what I believe is his first official policy statement since his failed bid for state comptroller last fall, or, at the very least his first of this election cycle, in response to the supercommittee’s failure to reach a deficit reduction deal.

It’s fitting that Wilson should choose this particular topic on which to re-enter the political discourse, since he has considerable experience trying to get companies – and even entire industries – back onto the path of fiscal health.

Wilson, who came within spitting distance of ousting Democratic state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli last fall during his inaugural run for elected office, is now “seriously considering” another statewide run – this time against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who must run for a full six-year term in 2012.

Gillibrand wasn’t a supercommittee member, but Wilson’s critique of Washington writ large could be construed as a swipe at the junior senator – or at least at the institution of which she is a member.

Here’s Wilson’s statement in full:

“Our political leaders have been tasked with finding a bipartisan solution for America’s great fiscal crises. Today, they have failed again, despite the fact that the consequences for countries that fail to deal with their debt and overspending problems are splashed across our television screens every day.”

“I have spent much of my professional career working to fix companies that have amassed too much debt to sustain in times of anemic growth, so I have seen this movie before. Strong leadership and forward thinking can minimize the pain for an overleveraged company or country, while feckless leadership and procrastination make a bad situation worse.”

“Thanks to the Super Committee’s failure, our leaders in Washington are making things worse, despite the existence of a number of bipartisan and Republican plans that would more than deliver the necessary savings.”

“This leadership deficit threatens the promise of America. As a father of four, I am sickened by it. We cannot let political paralysis and weakness threaten our children’s future. I, like many, have been fortunate to live the American Dream – yet now, protests from people on the right and the left who are sadly losing faith in that Dream underscore how seriously it is threatened today.”

“In order to fix America and put our country on a sustainable path towards fiscal stability, growth and future prosperity, in order to ensure the creation of good jobs for out-of-work Americans, I am urging Congress and the President to go back to the negotiating table and solve for our future. As the tragic examples of Greece and Italy can attest, they don’t have a choice.”